Ultramarines, The Movie!

For those of who aren't in the "know"; Games Workshop, Codex Pictures, and Image Metrics are currently developing a movie for us 40k fans.

Here is the link to the latest news articles for the movie. Linky

I cannot wait to see this finished!!!

_________________Adeptus Astartes Commandments1. Thou shalt not replace the Librarian's staff with a magic wand.2. Though shalt not refer to thine brethren, whom the Emperor has dictated be armed with an incendiary weapon, as a "Flamer" constantly. For this has been proven to lower morale and cause strife within His Most Holy showering facilities.3. Thou shalt not follow a Librarian around thinking, "Can you hear me now", repetitively in an attempt to drive him insane.

The assholes ship the DVD's from Jersey. A little island of the coast of UK that does not follow the same tax rules as the rest of EU.

Now I have to pay 25£ ekstra to get my movie though costums. That DOUBLES the cost for a single DVD. Over 50£ for DVD is a ripoff even for a special edition.

I'll never buy anything from that shit company again!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGHHH

DoZer

Posts : 779Join date : 2009-07-12Age : 33Location : Miami, FL (USA)

Subject: Re: Ultramarines, The Movie! Sun Dec 19, 2010 11:42 am

Ya, ive heard they have had a BUNCH of issues with there shipping. A lot of people have also been pissed about the fact that they havent released a normal edition, and all they have had is a Special Edition.

Word is though that for a first 40k movie it is pretty good. Give us a a movie review after you watch it!!!

_________________Adeptus Astartes Commandments1. Thou shalt not replace the Librarian's staff with a magic wand.2. Though shalt not refer to thine brethren, whom the Emperor has dictated be armed with an incendiary weapon, as a "Flamer" constantly. For this has been proven to lower morale and cause strife within His Most Holy showering facilities.3. Thou shalt not follow a Librarian around thinking, "Can you hear me now", repetitively in an attempt to drive him insane.

I've got it as a Christmas present (so it is in my house), but I'm not allowed to watch it until after the day (damn present rules ).

I can tell you after that. The boxset is nice and the graphic novella looks good - though probably not worth the £25 it cost. Excellent cast for the voices and the animation looks pretty clean (from the previews). But why not a bigger/normal release? - I don't get it.

Laney

_________________I thought the acolytes of Khorne were supposed to be warriors, not a bunch of pansies.— Commissar Ciaphas Cain, to a Khorne Berserker, during the Chaos attack on Adumbria

Ok, I just watched it (let's just say I aquired it in less than legal ways and leave it at that) so I'll give you a quick and spoilerless review. Note, these are just my oppinions on the movie. If you dont want to be influenced by me in your movie viewing pleasure, dont read this.

I went in to it expecting to dislike it judging on the trailers and while I didn't come out it still disliking it, I was unimpressed with it.

What was good about it? Well, the sound design is solid, fairly satisfying bolter sounds for one (could have done with a bit more 'boom' to them, but still quite good), atmospheric sounds are nice and engine sounds for the few vehicles in it is good. Voice talent is pretty good, to bad the material they had to work from was avarage. Music is nothing special, but it does the trick. Also the visual feel of the movie is quite good. What I mean by feel is the general atmospheric tone of it. Especially the outdoor scenes with the sun shining through the (dust)clouds are nice to look at. Unfortunatly, this is where the good pretty much ends.

Not to say it decends into bad, but everything else is pretty much mediocre. The 'skins'/'textures' on the marines for instance. They are a bit flat and uninsteresting, with very little detail. The textures on the 'world objects' are a bit better, but still not very good. While I thought the animation was a bit 'woody' at first, that eventually got better (or I got used to it) and was, once again, reasonably good (which is a tad better than mediocre). The camera work is also mediocre. It does the trick and even has some shots that are quite fun, but with computer animation there is som much more you can do and I feel that with some more movement to the camera and some more interesting shots the movie could have been a lot more exciting to watch.

The biggest disapointment hawever came from the part I was expecting the most from; the story and dialogue. Abnett is one of my favorite writers so I expected some quality work here. However the story is quite cliche (maybe with exception to the last third of the movie) and the dialogue was a bit forced. Also I had trouble finding out if the conversations between the marines was good natured banter between comerades, or if they just plain didn't like eachoter.

On a final note, don't go into this movie expecting a scifi action epic, because it is not. It is more like a scifi thriller like the sphere or Event Horizon (only more cliche and not at all scary). As a scifi triller it presses some buttons corectly (atmosphere, slow buildup to something unknown, reasonable interesting twist near the end) and some it fails to push (fear element, or general exitement for that matter). My conclusion therefore is: it is a mediocre movie only worht watching if you really like 40k, are not that picky about the movies you watch and have an hour and a half to spare.

Hmmm.... Thanks Colonel Prius. For me, this is ALL about story. Hell, it could be clay-mation for all I care, as long as the story is good. Thank you for emailing me the file (PM him if interested)... I will watch it AFTER I finish v0.6.0. No distractions for me!

PS: No, the good Colonel did NOT emailed me anything. I just want to see how many of you would flood him with idiotic requests. You want to see the movie... buy a copy. Or visit Laney after X-Mas.

_________________.The Mordheimer - Death Squads' Chief Editor & Ninja Designer. Bursting with ARACHAS' Dev-Powah™! Can't wait until someone invents a time machine so I can go to the specific day in the past that I volunteered for this, so I can kick my own ass.

Support Bacteria; it is the ONLY culture some people have!Since I ask "What do you think?" to all Staff, I have included it here to save time.

DoZer Mordheimer Justice NEEDS to be Served! Maybe 3rd Degree burns will teach you not to Tom Sawyer me to work!.

Well, we can still watch it, I just wont enjou it very much :p I rather have we watch Book of Eli, but that is a good movie for the whole 'gang' so to speak. As an adendum therefore to my 'review'. If you have 2 hours to spare and can choose between Ultramarines and Book of Eli, watch the latter...:p

The Book of Eli is a superb film (one of the best of the year for me, just behind Kick Ass). I don't expect Ultramarines to even get close to that (start low and hopefully be pleasantly surprised).

Now, if GW can forget their obsession with space marines and either release an inquisition film (Eisenhorn would be cool) or even better, stick with marines (of a sort) and go Horus Heresy (make it a trilogy and go live action, think about six, do the last three and then do a prequel - second thoughts don't do that it will be rubbish and never live up the first ones)!

Laney

_________________I thought the acolytes of Khorne were supposed to be warriors, not a bunch of pansies.— Commissar Ciaphas Cain, to a Khorne Berserker, during the Chaos attack on Adumbria

I saw the movie last night... just like the fan-made movie DAMNATUS... worth to watch one, then forget forever. The more you think about it, the worse it gets.

If you wish to know my opinion, read on.

EDIT: After I wrote this, I changed my mind. The movie sucked ass... the lack of attention to details was pathetic. Watch it once... wish for something better. If this is GW's trend to make this movies, they better stop. If their intention is to improve on this giant turd... then bring in an ARMY LEVEL encounter. Bring in THE WAR.

WARNING: Spoiler Alert!

If you read ahead, you won't want to see the movie.

You have been warned.

My issue with the movie is that there is no respect for the 'nature' of 40k. They 'claim' the Space Marines are bad ass, but we are presented with 9 'novices', a Sergeant and Apothecary and a Captain in the WHOLE Capital ship. The vessel is a HUGE scale as they are supposed to be (good), but it is incredibly desolate (bad). To give you a perspective, you could put 9 Thunderhawks (in a rectangle) on one of the hangar bays... but besides the 12 Space Marines, there are only 3 Servitors seen on the whole ship. As described on the 40k Lore, the Capital Ships have millions of people, all Serving the Chapters in many capacities (from mindless Servitors and Cherubs to Mechanicus). They needed to convey the true amount of man-power, to establish the sense of true Space Marine power. Without anyone else to compare, the SM look nothing more that 'tough' men in power armor. If they had showed a minor scene of Space Marines battling along Imperial Guard (yes... saving their asses!) the viewer would have understood that the SM are 10' tall and that a 'rookie' is worth 100 human veterans.

Every Space Marine looks like a clone of each other... the minor variances are on the 'age' of the character. I could understand the Apothecary looking like Mumm-Ra, The Ever Living... that is cool. But so many? Again, no respect to the intent of the Lore. The 'novices' (YES... they called them novices!) seem childish and over-eager... claiming never to seen combat. WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! No references of spending over 10 years as Scouts. Again, they are reduced to 'normal' soldiers.

The mission is to send this Squad to rescue a relic. WTF?!?! You don't send a Squad to rescue a relic... you send a whole Company. They try to explain why... they are the only ones around. Fuck... the sense of scale hit me again. That HUGE ship and there are only 15 guys? They go to the planet... in a Thunderhawk. A THUNDERHAWK!?! The sense of scale... again. Send them in a Drop Pod. Ohhh... the possible zone is under a Warp Storm (WTF?!?!) and there is the Landspeeder. OK... Where is the fucking Rhino? Why would not the Thunderhawk fly over the fortress and give air support while the Drop Pod lands? They reduced the mighty Thuderhawk to a school bus.

So, the Space Marines walk to the fortress (AGGHHH!) while the Landspeeder scouts ahead. The pilots meet an idiotic end... sniped?! In the middle of a wooden bridge? AGGGHHHHH!!! The enemy is introduced... Chaos Space Marines. OK... I bite. I see how the Squad is fighting the 'ambush' by 3 or 4 Chaos Space Marines. One Space Marine dies (that is a total of 3 SM dead now) with ONE shot. Lame, lame, LAME!!! We have now established that 3 or 4 CSM can take 3 SM out of 12. Remember that.

They keep moving in the fortress... WALKING... across dingy wooden bridges, jumping gaps and climbing stairs. Sure... apparently nobody was tough how to drive a Landspeeder. he guy with the flamer kept firing the Flamer in short bursts for light. WHAT? Stupid. Inside, another kill (head-shot) through the Helmet (which they CONSTANTLY take off!) Now they face a Daemon Prince... who gets defeated by the Captain pushing it out of a window (he goes down with him.) WHAT?!? Favorite line... "Take the Chainsword!!!" Like it was a fucking relic. At this point... I don't give a fuck anymore.

They find survivors... a pair of Imperial Fists, a 'novice' and a Chaplain. The Chap's helmet was AWESOME! Reminded me of a decorative Mexican Sugar Skull, made in silver. Intricate little designs, very good. The 'novice' is in charge of guarding the relic. WTF?! He is super trigger happy... pointing his Bolter to anyone that tries to touch the Relic (it is a book... a CODEX!) OK.. fine, he is a fanatical, obsessed guardian, incapable of trusting anyone. OK. Remember that.

They move out, and they are 'ambushed' by... ~ 30 Chaos Space Marines. WHAT?!? They kill (with one shot each) Traitor by Traitor... wave after wave. The Chaplain uses the Rozarious to 'fry' to a crisp 5 CSM. No sense of scale!!! The Captain returns from the dead... to save the SMs asses. Uhhh... they were winning. Anyway, it was a nice fight... him running like a mad-man killing CSM with his sword... which he throws at someone for the classic "throw a sword, gain a kill" move. "Captain, take it!" and they throw him the 'holy' Chainsword. AGGGHHH! The Space Marines scream 'inspired' by the Capatain. They 'survive' when the Thunderhawk returns and lays down the power. So the Squad walks back to get inside the Thunderhawk. WALK?!?! Fuck!

They return to the Capital ship and still as empty as always. They are going to 'immediately return to Macragge'... AGHHHH!!!! Fucking sense of scale... now, traveling to deep end of the galaxy's takes a hour. The 'novice' hero feels the Chaplain is tainted and him, another 'novice' and the Captain go to confront him. WHAT?!?! Where is the Ultramarine's Chaplain? OK, they go there and the Imperial Fist 'novice' threatens to kill the Captain who is about to grab the relic. Moronic. He puts the guy on its place. They reveal that they think the Chaplain is tainted. WHAT???? Only 3 SMs? Bring everyone one... fuck, you are in a Citadel Capital Ship... time to make some exercise. Bring the Terminators and Dreadnaughts. No... instead those three are able to talk down to the Chaplain AND kill him with one shot before he got a hold of his Rozarious, which BTW was sitting pretty at the table. Then is revealed that the Captain WAS the Daemon Prince in disguise and the relic is a cook-book to open a Warp Gate.

The Imperial Fist Marine, suddenly becomes everyone's best friend and THREE Space Marines go to stop the Daemon. Fuck... at this point, we sound the alarm and even the Servitors would come to kick ass. The Daemon Prince kills the Imperial Fist and 'knocks down' an Ultramarine. The 'novice' hero (Proetus... I remember his name now) is being bitch-slapped and put in on a summoning circle, as the Daemon Prince plans to 'change skin'. He escapes as the sleeping Space Marine distracts the Daemon. Proetus grabs the Warhammer (THE Warhammer, relic of the Ultramarines) and kills the Daemon with 3 swings... which BTW are so telegraphed that a 3 year old baby could have dodged them.

Now the 'novice' seems to be the new man in charge. WHAT?!?! Watch it... waste 2 hours of your existence.

_________________.The Mordheimer - Death Squads' Chief Editor & Ninja Designer. Bursting with ARACHAS' Dev-Powah™! Can't wait until someone invents a time machine so I can go to the specific day in the past that I volunteered for this, so I can kick my own ass.

Support Bacteria; it is the ONLY culture some people have!Since I ask "What do you think?" to all Staff, I have included it here to save time.

DoZer Mordheimer Justice NEEDS to be Served! Maybe 3rd Degree burns will teach you not to Tom Sawyer me to work!.

I watched DAMMATUS... considering it is a super low-budget FAN film, they did a better job!

I think the problem is that they 'sold' the movie with the wrong concept. They are trying to increase sales of 40k with the movie, but use NOTHING of the game. I mean... go crazy with HUGE wars!

They could have done something like Varakas... Imperial Guard becoming corrupt, fighting Imperial Guard... how the Chaos fuels the traitors increasing their power and then... BOOOM!!! The Ultramarines arrive to save the day! Make 'em tear the cultists appart with ease... then bring some Chaos Space Marines... OHHH!!! Fight tilts on the favor of evil... then you escalate with Terminators and maybe a Titan. Nobody messes with Humanity!

The viewers get a sense of how 'cheap' life is on the Dark Millennium and how powerful Space Marines are. Instead, they 'degraded' the SM to simpletons.

WATCH IT... get drunk first... then you will enjoy some of it.

_________________.The Mordheimer - Death Squads' Chief Editor & Ninja Designer. Bursting with ARACHAS' Dev-Powah™! Can't wait until someone invents a time machine so I can go to the specific day in the past that I volunteered for this, so I can kick my own ass.

Support Bacteria; it is the ONLY culture some people have!Since I ask "What do you think?" to all Staff, I have included it here to save time.

DoZer Mordheimer Justice NEEDS to be Served! Maybe 3rd Degree burns will teach you not to Tom Sawyer me to work!.

dr!zzt

Posts : 229Join date : 2010-01-05Age : 30Location : Krakow, Poland

Subject: Re: Ultramarines, The Movie! Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:10 pm

ech... i tried. getting drunk won't help. it still sucks. better watch MegaPiranha. and even after this, with tottaly emty mind, i couldn't finish Ultramarines... for me it's just sad, what they did to WH40k.

HAHAHA! If they had put a Piraña eating the Thunderhawk... MAYBE they would had saved the movie.

I saw Zombie Strippers... slightly worse than MegaPiranha, still better than Ultramarines.

_________________.The Mordheimer - Death Squads' Chief Editor & Ninja Designer. Bursting with ARACHAS' Dev-Powah™! Can't wait until someone invents a time machine so I can go to the specific day in the past that I volunteered for this, so I can kick my own ass.

Support Bacteria; it is the ONLY culture some people have!Since I ask "What do you think?" to all Staff, I have included it here to save time.

DoZer Mordheimer Justice NEEDS to be Served! Maybe 3rd Degree burns will teach you not to Tom Sawyer me to work!.

I'll still be watching Ultramarines, but hoping they do better on the next venture (if they ever do one ). It doesn't seem like the criticism is about the quality of the animation, just everything else that makes it 40k (anyone know where I can get hold of Damnatus - the trailer looks awesome - though I understand there are some copyright issues yet to be resolved)! GW need to think BIG and get a deal with a proper film company - then we could be talking LOTR (don't they have some links there?). Not only that - but think about it as free advertising for the game and company (just stay away from some of the cheesier elements e.g. Ultrasmurfs) and you recruit all sorts of new people to the game.

_________________I thought the acolytes of Khorne were supposed to be warriors, not a bunch of pansies.— Commissar Ciaphas Cain, to a Khorne Berserker, during the Chaos attack on Adumbria

I watched it last night and it sucked. But it was not cheap CGI, sound effects, or thin plot. It was because it was short and didn't get into the 40k universe. It left me wanting more. My girlfriend, who don't know anything about 40k, even said 'was that it?' She agreed that it should have been longer and more action packed. If it was a movie for the fans why was it so shallow!

Was it worth 25£? Maybe.Was it worth the 50£ I ended up paying? Not a chance.

'The Emperor protects.''But it dosn't hurt carrying a loaded bolter'

Inferny

Posts : 25Join date : 2010-09-26Age : 32Location : Ukraine, Kiev

Subject: Re: Ultramarines, The Movie! Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:36 am

Watched it few days ago (Hail for piratebay). EPIC FAIL! It isn't movie for old fans. It's looked more like they made it to involve school kids in the 40k universe.Few words about scenario. I think Abnet wrote it with his leg. Burn in hell)